The National Audit Office has cracked open the lid of another massive fraud that has taken place in the importation of organic fertiliser containing poisonous pathogens brought from China to Sri Lanka, which has led to controversy.
It has now come to light that the tender related to the purchase of this fertilizer, which was rejected due to the presence of harmful pathogens after being brought to Sri Lanka, was not properly evaluated by the technical evaluation committee and the relevant transaction was carried out using only the signature of the chairman of the said (TEC) committee.
The Audit Office said the evaluation process was allegedly flawed by the chairman since he alone had signed the documents relating to the technical evaluation sent to the bidders of the tender.
Accordingly, the National Audit Office has recommended that the officials involved in the purchase of this fertiliser should be brought before the law of the country
Also, these special audit reports have recommended that legal action be taken against the Qingdao Seawin Biotech company, which has brought in fertilisers in violation of the existing laws and quarantine regulations of Sri Lanka, posing a threat to the other Sri Lankan crops. These harmful Bacterias cannot be controlled by any agrochemical it said.
According to the Sunday Times, the National Audit Office has also recommended blacklisting the company, which received $6.9 million by violating the relevant agreements.
The report further recommended that legal action should be taken against the people who arranged for the payment of 6.9 million dollars to the Chinese company.
Issues relating to this were raised in Parliament recently, where Samagi Jana balawegaya MP Hesha Withanage accused the former minister, Shashindra Rajapaksa, of being responsible for this scandal. Also, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said that a committee headed by the Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture has been appointed to deal with the extra 6.9 million dollars recovered by the Chinese company.
